By Miguel A. Melendez, Staff Writer
It wasn’t exactly shock and awe, but the Pasadena High School boys basketball team came close to it.

With precision, speed and execution, the second-seeded Bulldogs blitzed Bonita in the first quarter to end on a 15-3 run, en route to a 64-50 win Tuesday night in the semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3AAA playoffs.

Pasadena (22-7) will host Beverly Hills (20-9) in Friday’s semifinals at Muir.
Bonita (25-5) had no answer for the Bulldogs in the first quarter, succumbing to their pressure that resulted in nine first-quarter turnovers. The Bearcats finished with 19 turnovers.

Pasadena led 22-7 after the first, and although Bonita, which trailed by as many as 19, made a valiant second-half run it never closed the gap under 10. (To continue click thread)

But Leuzinger stroked it better, nailing 10 three-pointers and hitting clutch three’s at the end of the half and third quarter and rode that momentum to a 68-59 victory to eliminate Glendora from the playoffs.

“The first five minutes we sort of got blitzed,” Bonita coach Greg Eckler said. “It was just too late before we found ourselves. I wish we had back those first five minutes.”

Pasadena coach Tim Tucker scouted Bonita two weeks before the season ended, knowing well that the Bearcats presented a challenge with their deft perimeter shooting, led by Matt Adamo’s 14 points. Brandon Ko proved tenacious for the Bearcats, finishing with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds. The Bulldogs reversed roles, this time getting off to a strong start before complacency ensued in the second half.

“I didn’t want (Bonita) on my side of the bracket,” Tucker said. “This is the game I pointed that was scary to me, and they prove dit. When we could have knocked them out early we didn’t. I thought we just outlasted them. I don’t think we did anything great down the stretch.”

Blake Hamilton accentuated the Bulldogs’ speed with two fastbreak dunks to finish with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds along with three blocks and three steals. Sophomore point guard Ajon Efferson led the way for Pasadena with a game-high 18 points and three assists.

The Bulldogs shot better (42 percent on 20 of 47) than the Bearcats (36 percent on 20 of 55) but what seemingly kept Bonita in the game was its offensive rebounding edge (14-7) and ability to take the Bulldogs out of their element. Pasadena’s run-and-gun offense and easy buckets in transition was virtually nonexistent in the second half.

“We’d take quick shots and we go down the court and play defense for 25 seconds,” Tucker said. “They were making the game longer for us than we were making it for them, thus we looked real tired down the stretch.”

John Haywood’s steal and fastbreak layup with 6:06 left in the game gave Pasadena a 27-8 lead. But it was Bonita on the ensuing possession had three offensive rebounds before Bryan Mahood (12 points, 5 rebounds) hit an 8-foot jumper, much to the chagrin of Tucker, who called a timeout.

“We were standing around, making one pass and shooting the ball,” Tucker said. “Every fourth (possession) we did (run our offense) but for the most part we didn’t.”

Pasadena forward Brandon Jolley, who finished with 11 points, eight rebounds, 8 assists and three steals, said the team lacked mental focus.

“We got a lead and decided to take it easy,” he said. “We were just thinking they were not a good team, and we were helping them.”

Pasadena did just enough to get by. Hamilton’s dunk on a fastbreak off a Haywood no-look pass made it 31-18 with 1:22 left in the second quarter. Jolley found Hamilton down the baseline for another dunk with 1:01 left in the game to make it 61-47.

“Every time I thought we made a run, they answered,” Eckler said. “Every time. They’d hit a three or a jumper. They’re really good.”

I was at the SJB-Covina game. Those two teams being in the same division is a joke. If you can’t understand that a team sponsored by Nike shouldn’t be in the same division as Covina, then you’re beyond repair.

SGV’s Best

An absolutely shocking night!

Shocked that Damien lost…

Shocked that Bonita was able to give Pasadena a run…

Shocked that Chino Hills, Charter Oak and Amat went out with a whimper…

Shocked that Lutheran stands alone as the only area team to advance…

Shocked that Lutheran had such a close game after Eric Sondheimer told me that Oaks had no chance…

Shocked that Eric Cooper Jr. played…

Shocked that Glendora lost…

OK, the last 2 weren’t much of a shock!

Colt74

Jefe is an ass…he is just bitter because his school “Dick’s School of Car Washing and Lawn Care” could not get 5 guys together for a basketball team. When they asked for 5 guys to show up no one came because they thought it was for a police line up……

But at least he can wear his Varsity jacket with DICK across the back…..

Respect Covina more now????

SGV Athlete

Here’s my take on the Private vs. Public situation. Certain Public schools have a chance against Private schools in certain sports (i.e. Corona Centennial in football or Long Beach Poly in just about any sport), but for the most part, Public schools are just getting their butts kicked. SJB, Alemany, Amat, Loyola, Mater Dei, Servite, Crespi, Damien, Serra, OLu, LV Lutheran, they all have a distinct advantage as far as getting the best athlete’s, especially in their area. I was at the Covina vs. SJB game tonight, and it was Bright Apples vs. Under-developed Oranges out there. The coaching is different, the player selection is different, everything is realistically different (and I went to a Private HS and can still see that there is a problem). The best solution?? Private Divisions and Public Divisions. Match the champions at the end if you’re really that hard pressed to find the “best”. But as far as this “enrollment” rule, its an absolute joke. The 1,600 students at Covina come from COMPLETELY different backgrounds then the 1,100 students at SJB.

Covina, great season. You fought to the end. Bosco was just in another league. Just like Davey Crockett at the Alamo.You have to play who CIF sends your way. No on said life is fair.Keep your heads high. No need to cry about unfair disadvantage even though it is fact.
Thanks for the great season and good luck to advancing teams.

Joe Amat

Aram,

First, did St Francis belong in the same division as Covina? There didn’t seem to be a problem then? Does Amat belong in the same division as Wilson? That was a pretty even matchup? And what is the differrence betweem Amat/St Francis and St John Bosco…or Alemany for that matter? I think I know. You tell us.

Opportunities are right there for everybody. Isn’t Glendora (public) still a Nike school like they were in their heyday? What is stopping Covina or Bonita from being Glendora? What is stopping todays San Dimas from being yesterdays San Dimas? Why can West Covina basketball be West Covina football? What keeping Monrovia High School a 3 win basketball program when Aram has been telling us all year the are more athletes on that campus than anywhere else in the SGV?

Nothing. Except what was mentioned below. Coaching is just differeent. The manner in which they run their programs is just different. Commitment and expectations are different. That isn’t because of any public/private advantage/disadvantage…it’s because of a series of choices.

Schools could CHOOSE to go out and get (then keep) a great coach. They could CHOOSE to support that program the way they may support their football program. They could CHOOSE to allow the coaches to fundraise or put money into the program so they can do things 1st class and catch up with the “haves”. The athletic department could CHOOSE to encourage multi-sport tahletes so they can take advantage of some of the football studs that roam those campuses. The coach could CHOOSE to get off his butt and have developmental programs in the community to build players and then encourage them to stay…or even give othres a reason to come.

All those things are choices – not disadvantages.

Finally,we flushed out Jefe’s allegience during football season and he’s been a SJB guy all year long – so on this one he can pound his chest a bit.

Having a big-time hoops program has little to do with support and coaching, and a lot to do with whether a program’s head coach wants to whore himself out to the travel ball circuit. Guys like Ertle, Dunn, Wiard (girls), LeDuc and so on do not do that.

This isn’t football where a good coach with a good booster club can go a long way. This is hoops and the top programs have a presence on the travel ball scene.

Joe Amat

…and lets try this just for kicks and giggles. There are people on here witha heckuva lotta time on their hands when it comes to something they’re passionate about. Some “separation of public/private” guy can this for us.

Start at the top and begin to list/rank the Private Schools. Then divide them into 40-45 team divisions. How far down do you have to go before you start to see the same kind of imbalance and “unfairness” within division as what perceive now.

Fred Robledo

Joe, you forgot to mention what is stopping Workman girls basketball from beating and being Windward? Windward is ranked No. 2 in the nation, and Workman is ranked 1,710.. Or how about Duarte, who goes 22-1 and is still only ranked 1,729 in the nation. Duarte’s reward is Oaks Christian, ranked No. 22 in the state. C’mon Joe, would love to hear you tell Workman, who had their best player in history, or Duarte, who had one of their best years in history, that the system is fair and just.. Give me a break…Would rather watch proven area power and former state champ Amat play Windward in the second round after finishing fourth in league and let Workman or Duarte have a shot in D-3, where Charter Oak, St. Lucy’s and Covina are still alive. Having all these divisions is what screws everything up, and having to align the divisions with the state playoffs for enrollment purposes screws it up too….It’s all about money, more divisions mean more money and more games for CIF. Who cares about fairness when there is money to be made.

Joe Amat

Accoring to LA Times Here’s the breakdown: 1AA, six public and two privates remain alive. In 1A, seven public and one private. In 2AA, 8 public. In 2A, eight public. In 3AAA, four public. In 3AA, four public. In 3A, three private, one public. In 4AA, four private. In 4A, four private. In 5AA, four private. In 5A, three private and one public. In 6, four private.

39 public/30 private

It’s not a constitutional right to be able to win a championship just because you have the best team you ever had. Sometimes you a what you are. Duare put up a fight in there game and had a very respectable score. Maybe, that is “winning” for them.

From what I understand, Workman shot themselves in the foot by deciding they were going to press and run with Windawrad instead of really trying to keep it close and have a chance to win.

For every Windward there is a Sage Hill. Sage Hill is just as good academically, has just as much money, and access to wealthy or talented OC kids, as Windward does in Santa Monica. What if Workman and Duarte had played Valley Christian or Santa Clara? They’d be pretty excited about that matchup. And those schools have no advantages over a Windward or Oaks. In fact VC girls used to be the areas Windward.

But your point about all these divisions and state enrollment divisions is correct. But since you’re passionate about it – maybe you can take me up on the challenge below and see how that works out. I’m as curious as anybody.

.

Joe Amat

Aram,

That’s certainly one way to do it, as we see with SJB. But to say It has little do with supprt and coaching is WAY off base. Not every successful program “whores themselves out” to travel ball programs. Does Tim Tucker do that at PHS? He and Dunn were favorites in that division. LeDuc has had a few deep runs recently hand has been a player away from a return to the finals a couple times. Don’t full yourself either, Wiard has benefitted from his share of ttravel ball girls and Ertle…well he’s Ertle. And probably shouldn’t have been mentioned in the same sentence with the others.

Maybe while Freddie is paying off his lunch to Sondheimer, you should go along and read his article from today about how the format has opened the possibility for the “hometown team” winning a championship.

It can be done, and like I said, nothing but themselves is preventing San Dimas from being the old San Dimas, West Covina or Monrovia from being their football teams, and Covina or Bonita from being this decades Glendora, or Amat from being the Amat of old.

Jefe

Aram, I agree. The divisions make no sense to me either. If you look at all the divisions and some of the teams in them it really makes you wonder what the folks over at CIF were thinking in this process. There are some major imbalances sprinkled across all the divisions, some much worse than others.

Colts74, the only issue I had with you was your sage wisdom in stating your Colts could play with Bosco. That was the most ridiculous thing I had read in quite some time.

Fred Robledo

Joe, did you really write, “Workman shot themselves in the foot by deciding they were going to press and run with Windawrad instead of really trying to keep it close and have a chance to win.”

A chance to win? Joe you are so much smarter than that, you could have eliminated the shot clock and Windward would win that game by 40. Workman had a ZERO chance of winning and you know it…

I know it will never happen Joe, but as long as you have to align yourself with the state for enrollment purposes because of the playoffs, the only TRUE fair thing you can do is separate the public and private’s by enrollment for the CIF playoffs. You could have a set number of public divisions, 1 through whatever based on enrollment, and do the same with privates based on enrollment. Once champions are decided, then the top public’s and privates go head to head based on the enrollment and play it out to decide who goes to the state title. I know it will never happen, but that’s the ONLY practical solution to this madness given you have to align yourself with the state.

Joe Amat

In a vacuum, when it’s close you have a chance to win. Stay within 10 and hopw something happens. On the surface, it looks like Duarte did that. Karma may have come back to get them after inexcusable beating they pit on La Puente. Real fairness would have matched them up against Windward to see what that felt like. What goes around comes around.

Outside of that vacuum, you’re right, Windward probably wins D1 – so it doesn’t really matter. Luck of the draw. Remember, this is coming from the little bitty, over-the-hill, living-in-the-past, can’t compete in D1, school from the barrio that looks forward to those matchups and would have it no other way.

So start then process, take my “Make-a-List” challenge. Start ranking those private schools from the top down and divide them into Divisions of 40-45. see if you end up with “fair” divisions there. You’re up.

Dog Fan

I just wanna know whathappen to the so called upset that fred said was going to happen in the Pasadena game. truthfully Pasadena should had won by much more than what they did the coach from Bonita was smart to slow down Pasadena and make them run a half court offense instead of letting them run. But in all aspects Pasadena would like to thank bonita for helping us work on our half court game.

And believe me if Muir was in the playoffs i see them upsetting some of those power houses in 4aa these Pasadena schools can run with the big dogs. Price 2 point victory in overtime pasadena was without jolley. La vern good win game was at 4 points with under 2:00 left again no jolley. Muir would had probably beaten Crespi and Price in my opinion.

TrekNoid

Joe you said “Accoring to LA Times Here’s the breakdown: 1AA, six public and two privates remain alive. In 1A, seven public and one private. In 2AA, 8 public. In 2A, eight public. In 3AAA, four public. In 3AA, four public. In 3A, three private, one public. In 4AA, four private. In 4A, four private. In 5AA, four private. In 5A, three private and one public. In 6, four private.” The problem with your analysis is that a lot of those private schools in division 3 and 4 are maxed out as high as they can go in their divisions based on enrollment, even though most of them have better athletes then the public schools in division 1 and 2. Your analysis is flawed because of that. And to think that public schools can compete with the resources that private schools have with unions, ed. code, and school board policies is complete and utter ingnorance – especially in the age of the association rule and travel ball. Their is no easy fix for this issue, but seperating private schools from public to allow public schools to compete against similarly enrolled schools would be a good start.

Colt74

Jefe said: Colts74, the only issue I had with you was your sage wisdom in stating your Colts could play with Bosco. That was the most ridiculous thing I had read in quite some time.

PLEASE show me where that post is besides in your head. I support my school. I don’t come onto the blog to bash or belittle ANY other school like you.

And yes The Colts will play with anyone. Even teams sponsored by Nike. Do you REALLY think that any COLT fan would not support their team. Really?

You want to talk facts…talk facts. Talk about how this was the best Covina team in years. Talk about making it to the playoffs. Talk about going deep. But don’t talk about being not able to play with any team. We COLTS know better.

I get it. You hate Bishop Amat and Covina. Get over it.

But I’ll STILL be here supporting my Colts in every sport and whoever they play. PERIOD.
And chances are, supporting Bishop Amat too.

Colts4life

Congratulations to Coach William Bissman on a fine basketball season. Rumor has it, this season was the most successful for Covina since the 1970s! Hopefully Coach Bissman and his staff will be recognized for their accomplishments. Great video before the Pioneer game honoring the League Championship teams. It really got the crowd going! Why did the school not play it again before the Bosco game?

Joe Amat

TrekNoid,

It’s not “my analysis” it’s the LA times actual breakdown of what the current system has created. And capping private school movement at 4AA is part of that system that has created this balance

That is all.

Joe Amat

16 of the top 32 teams in Southern Section are public. 32 of the top 50. 54 of top 75. 75 of the top 100. Do you see whe this is going? It is NOT public/private. There is not this overabundance of great Private school programs. There are few. 25 out of the top 100. 99 of the top 125 are public. Should we keep going? 121 of the top 150 schools are public – and Covina is at #150. So only 29 private schools are ranked higher than Covina.

155 public schools in the top 200 ranked schools in the Southern Section. Did you read that? ONE-HUNDRED FIFTY-FIVE of the top 200 ranked boys basketball teams are public schools.

That leaves 45 private schools to make up the D1 private school division, with Private schools like Yeshiva,La Salle, Brethren Christian, Aquinas and Paraclete in those top 45 schools?

Fred, is that really the solution you’re looking for?

TrekNoid

You are right Joe, what I quoted was the data that you analyzed to make the implication that there is some sort of equity in the divisions. An analysis and implication which is flawed due to the cap system that keeps private schools from competing with stronger schools in CIF. Of course there are no private schools left in the higher divisions! Few have the enrollment to qualify to compete with the high enrollment public schools. Instead the powerhouse private schools with travel ball feeder teams face the lower enrollment public schools that have the disadvantage, if they follow the rules, of only being able to draw upon the population of their communities for their sports teams. These teams also have fewer resources, as any informed person knows, since public schools get their funding from student enrollment and attendance. In addition, many public schools have strict policies on fundraising and booster clubs that prevent them from using potential revenue streams to retain coaches and to add to their staff. Joe,

THAT is all.

Basic

Joe,

You have repeatedly asked “what is stopping these public schools from competing with private schools” how about the area from which public school have the ability to pull athletes from???

Take Bonita, if they could pull the best athletes from Glendora/SD do you not think Bonita could then really compete?

What IF they could pull the kids from Damien and LVL, many of which are not in the district, now THAT team could compete with anyone…but guess what, Bonita can NOT do that and you know why (out of district) and that is why a public school can not compete with a private school. LVL/Damien can have kids that do not live in their district attend their school.

Now as for Bonita/Pasadena, I thought Pas could have and maybe should have won by more, they have more athletes, which speaks volumes of the Bearcats. Great job!!!

BraveDad

Many great posts here guys. A few points:

1) Fact is the privates play in their own leagues during league play. We beat the crap out of each other and hope to stay healthy and win enough games to make the playoffs; and this applies to all sports. Should we play each other in playoffs too as they do in Texas? Maybe, but there are not enough of us in the division to have our own D1 playoffs so CIF includes the elite private programs as well. For example, there are only 10 private programs in D1 football. How would that work? Contact the CIF and make your recommendations. If you have an idea on how to put a four week tournament together with 10 teams you should have a job with the CIF!

2) Tool, you never cease to amaze me with you senseless dribble. You are calling our coach a whore? You have no clue how we at Bosco support him and his program or all sports for that matter (we also support education). If anything that support is what separates privates from publics. That said, was he a whore when he was ripping off 10 consecutive championships at Taft? What, Taft is a public school? A city school at that? Huh? Tool you obviously dont know the man. Oh and FYI big fella, parents pay for the Nike gear. Nike offers it to us, and many other schools of choice (including publics) at a great rate and we jump on it. We are willing to pay just as were willing to pay tuition for private school education. Nike gets their name out their and we wear nice gear no apologies there big boy.

3) Joe Amat, good points brother, sticking to the facts.

4) Tool (again); the only thing beyond repair is your appetite. Can you skip a meal now and then (you fire first shots all the time and I am compelled to respond)? What are you doing on this thread anyway? You have not posted anything on your blog for a week do some work!

5) Jefe, as far as Sondheimer LMAO!

Joe Amat

Basic,

I know many kids over the years at Bonita come from the Pmona District. You CAN get students to enroll in the 9th grade from anywhere – just like every other public school in California that chooses to accept them. Again, a choice – not a disadvantage.

Even Trekkie below writes “many public schools have strict policies on fundraising and booster clubs that prevent them from using potential revenue streams to retain coaches and to add to their staff”. Onece again, a choice, since “many” schools do….and others choose not to.

I ask you, Trekkie, where are all these “powerhouse” private schools you’re talking about? I just listed the #s for the top TWO HUNDRED school in the Southern Section and the 35-45th highest ranked Private Schools contain Yeshiva, Aquinas, and Paraclete…are THOSE the “powerhouses” you’re worried about?

Nobody’s talking about the #1 ranked team in their division, losing in the quarter finals. Is Dunn done? Rumors are rampant.

This was suppose to be Damien’s CIF Championship year?

Huh?

TrekNoid

Bravedad,
You made some good points about division 1 schools, but I don’t think people are arguing that there are issues with division 1 or division 2 schools who have the enrollment to compete. The issue keeps being that public schools with fewer resources are unable to even compete with the private schools that can have limitless resources and a seamless alignment with the travel ball system. And of course many of these private schools get capped off competing against lower enrollment public schools that have to follow rules that the privates do not. Those are the facts. Bosco has done a great job establishing a highly competitive that deserves to be competing against better opponents. No knock on Covina (Who the heck thought we would be talking about Covina in the tribune blog 3 rounds into the playoffs! WTH is going on there) they are a great area team that worked hard within the restrictions they have to build a competitive team that can hang with their division except Bosco and Alemany.

I don’t think basketball teams need to be in the same division as their football teams. Am I right?
(I really don’t know can somebody tell me)

@Colts4life – Regarding the video maybe there is a CIF rule guiding what you can do before games, like no excessive introductions, etc. Does anybody know? You say they played it before the Pioneer game though? Interesting. Covina and their videos. I remember 2 years ago they did a little video before the championship of the Christmas tournament, and they were not even it! They must have the video teacher on their coaching staff or in the boosters club or something. lol

TrekNoid

@ joe, You seem to be big on research, yet your ingnorance knows no bounds.
“I know many kids over the years at Bonita come from the Pmona District. You CAN get students to enroll in the 9th grade from anywhere – just like every other public school in California that chooses to accept them. Again, a choice – not a disadvantage.”
Schools have to sign off to release students from their schools and it can not be athletically motivated. A student has a right to transfer if the parents want their kid to be offered access to a particular program like forensic science, business classes, a specific foreign language, that is not offered at their zoned school. Not any school they want to in the 9th grade! Everybody in the area would be at Bonita or Glendora then! Since school $’s are assigned to the student, then obviously schools are reluctant to release students. Also Joe, ever heard of the term “declining enrollment” look it up. The SGV is filled with a bunch of empty nesters. Private schools of course don’t have to get public schools to release students from the public system. Not an advantage?
“Well private schools cost $” Not for those who get scholarships….
It is really a matter of free market versus government ran, and free market will win everytime. And Joe, it’s Trekker not Trekkie :p

Joe Amat

School Districts actually have a very hard time denying an inter-district transfer application if you choose to push the issue.

The only reasons a district is allowed to deny you is if theree is a court-ordered or voluntary desegregation plan of the district, or the racial and ethnic balance of the district is drastically effected.

A school district of residence can’t unilaterally adopt any other policies that in any way prevent or discourage pupils from applying for a transfer to a school with a higher API. Which means all of t hose Pomona kids I mention from Palamares, Emerson, Marshall, Fremont or Ganesha HS are free to roam over the hill to Bonita or Glendora….or anywhere else with a higher API.

I also LOVE the whole myth of all these “scholarships” that the private schools give out to athletes. Please keep that a secret. Families are going to start accepting these grants (that don’t actually exist anymore for athletes than non-athletes)

And once again Trekanoids, who are all these basketball “powers”? I bet you can count them in your digits with your shoes off (barring any catastrophies we’re not aware of)

BraveDad

@Treknoid,

You are correct, football and basketball divisions are different – good catch. However, teams still play in the same league for both sports and for the most part (I underscore: for the most part) privates play in leagues with other privates and publics with other publics no matter the division. Sorry, I just have D1 on the brain because of my one track football mind. Don’t get me wrong, basketball is a beast sport too, but football rules the sports world! (Okay, Im going off track here). Anyway, my point still applies: we beat the crap out of each other during league and hope to win enough and stay healthy to qualify for the playoffs. Believe me; those of us affiliated with the Bosco football program understand that very well (hopefully weve fixed that issue for the long haul). With regard to basketball, once a school is in the divisions are all mixed and get all mucked up.

Joe Amat

‘Noids,

I also forgot to address your “declining enrollment” issue. THAT is what actually encourages districts to become a District of Choice…so they can fill those open spots. If a District of Choice has plenty of open spots they don’t have to go the “lottery” route and can accept anyone they CHOOSE to (there’s that word again)

TrekNoid

@Joe, Parents only have the right to transfer to different schools with higher API scores if their school is in program improvement, otherwise the district can fight the transfer – and will – to protect their budgets, even within districts (unless it is to a district of choice). This is especially prevalent with all schools in the SGV experiencing declining enrollment due to empty nesters, etc. Times are hard and schools are working their hardest to retain their students. Take a gander at Ed. Code sometime, you might find it enlightening. Now I don’t claim to know everything, but Joe you don’t think the 30 schools left in the playoffs now could be a foundation for a competitive private school division? After all, out of the top 17 schools in the section Bosco was ranked 17 of which 11 are private schools. Sounds like that would be an awesome semifinal. A lot people point out that private schools play in private school leagues. Isn’t that even more evidence there should be a private school division?

IE Basketball

I think that the primary reason the new divisions were created was because of money. CIF looked out at the championship games at the large venues last year with a couple of games with small private schools and saw all the gate money they were losing out on. Add that to the clamor that some are making about having a private school and a public school division (which most likely would not stand up in court if it ever happened) and CIF chose this particular way to make the divisions to kill two birds with one stone. They have a great chance to get larger public schools in the championship games that will be at the larger venues like the Galen Center last year and they have a legal way to create a public and private school division which 4AA essentially is. The public schools in Divisions 2 and 3 are the ones that made out great with the new pairings, since most of the private school teams that would have been in those divisions based on competitive equity are capped in 4AA. Gosh, I wonder if any of their AD’s are on the Basketball Advisory Committee? As for what to do about it, I imagine that there is at least one state out of the other forty-nine that has similar issues and has settled on a system that is the fairest to all.

RJ

Mason Dixie is right, lets get back to the actual games.

The headline of the day should be that Damien lost in the quarterfinals last night. How a #1 seeded team that is ranked in the top 20 in the state and has arguably one of the best players in that school’s history in Chris Reyes, loses in the quarterfinals of a weak CIF bracket is embarrassing.

This was supposed to be their year, there was no Eisenhower or Harvard Westlake/the big bad 1 seed to run into this year. This Damien team clearly was not that good, they had an inflated record because of a poor league and that clearly showed now. This is all on Matt Dumb and that team for underachieving this postseason.

Thats the top story of the day, not the private/public school debate that is only talked about because Covina got Hammed by Issac and Daniel Hamilton.

Bizarro

RJ – your post is the exact opposite of the ones below it.

The big bad #1seeded private school with all the advantages and t heir D1 center loses to the disadvantaged hometown public school with all the football players from little Arroyo Grande. Interesting.

Maybe TrekNoid, Basic and others can explain that one

fallen

If this was a football blog the lead story would be Bishop getting BLOWN OUT by Alemany and calling for Hagerty’s head. How does that basketball coach at Bishop keep his jokb after running that prgram down as much as he has. Really – an overtime win over Wilson is now a good thing?

styx25hoop

What happen to Damien? But we are blogging about private and public school? The top story should of been what happen to Damien who was ranked 1st in San Gabrial all season long but lose to who? Arroyo Grande? It is funny that we talk about private and public school during playoff time. yes private do get good player but their parents pay for that education, and yes out of district. But I beleive that diffences is coaching and building a winning program from the top to bottom (Freshmen) between school. You can get great players public or private but can’t guarantee you a winning prograsm without a good coaching.

SGV’s Best

Wow Aram. That was quite the editorial…

“Having a big-time hoops program has little to do with support and coaching, and a lot to do with whether a program’s head coach wants to whore himself out to the travel ball circuit. Guys like Ertle, Dunn, Wiard (girls), LeDuc and so on do not do that.”

First of all I disagree with your take on coaching. A great coach will attract good talent. He will also develop the mid-level player to be a solid contributor.

Second, a coach being involved with a travel basketball program hardly makes him a “whore”. Actually, many would consider it to be very wise.

Lastly, you need to check your facts about Coach LeDuc. For a while there was a travel basketball team in Glendora called the Glendora Bullets. The Boyer family (who are GHS Basketball boosters) ran the program and taught the players LeDuc’s offense and defense. Several out of district kids were “funnelled” to GHS because of this program.

Also, the LeDuc family is heavily involved with the Prodigy Athletic travel basketball program.

For the record I find nothing wrong with this. Do you Aram?

Crazy system

More important than the public vs private is the fact that CIF has made the leagues irrelevant with this crazy playoff system. We have teams that went 0 – 12 in league play that still make the playoffs. CIF needs to have separate leagues for Football, Basketball and Baseball and all teams in the leagues need to compete in the same division at the playoff level.

Sux2BU

Rumors out of La Verne that the Damien parents are ANGRY with Dunn. Is it true that only 3 kids scored in the loss to Arroyo Grande???????

sgvpride

Damien was overrated, very one dimensional with Reyes. Take out CR and you have yourself a ball game.

Where is there bigger dissatisfaction with the coach/program, Chino Hills or Damien? Chino Hills is a mess from what I am hearing. With Reyes and Dizon graduating, Hemsley possibly transferring and the JV and Freshmen teams both being atrociously bad, Damien could be HORRIBLE next year. No big, no upcoming talent AND defections? Rhut Rho Shaggy! Oh yeah, I forgot the possibility of parent dissatisfaction that is a whole other animal! CHHS is having a huge problem in that department, but might be getting rid of some of the problem with graduation.

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